New approaches are urgently needed to improve agricultural production, given the steadily growing global population that is predicted to reach 6-9 billion persons by mid-century, the continual strain on existing and finite agricultural lands, and the recent diversion of valuable agricultural land from production of crops to production of biomass for fuels. Here we describe new approaches to increase agricultural production by controlling the adverse effects of microorganisms on plants.
The five main crops on which modern societies depend most heavily include corn, cotton, rice, soybeans, and wheat. All of these crops are affected in a deleterious manner by biofilm formation. In addition, other valuable plants such as those producing fruits and vegetables are similarly affected. Plants grown for biomass stand to increase as a valuable crop, albeit not for food, and also can benefit from protection from biofilm formation. Forestry crops, turfgrass, and ornamentals, and aquatic sites, also suffer from biofilms.